Ballet – Page 2

What Makes A Dance? The Brain As Choreographer, Dancer And Spectator

July 5, 2016 by 4dancers

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Aloha to All –

We are very pleased to have as our next Dance Wellness guest contributor Judith Lynne Hanna, PhD. Dr. Hanna is a longtime dancer and anthropologist whose work spans many years. Reading reviews of her recently published book, “Learning to Dance: The Brain’s Cognition, Emotion, and Movement”, spurred me to contact her to see if she would write an article for us concerning the new research on dancers’ brains, and how growing up in dance really does change us. The new science of Neuroplasticity (also called brain plasticity, is the process in which your brain’s neural synapses and pathways are altered as an effect of environmental, behavioral, and neural changes) is fascinating – and there are now more than 400 studies related to interdisciplinary neuroscience that reveal the hidden value of dance.

Many of us in the dance world have grown up feeling / knowing that we were somehow “different” from non-dancers, but only recently has science been learning how and why. I found Dr. Hanna’s article to be a clear explanation of all this new research, and am so pleased to share it with you.
Enjoy! (and don’t stop dancing–ever!)

Jan Dunn, MS, Dance Wellness Editor

by Judith Lynne Hanna, PhD

At times during their careers, dancers may want to explain what dance is about to family, friends, students, schools, spectators, and the media. After all, knowledge about dance is new and limited compared to the other arts.

My journey toward understanding dance began as a child in 1946, and the odyssey hasn’t stopped. A pediatrician told my parents that ballet would make my feet strong. So I studied ballet. Dancing didn’t do much for my feet, but dancing has made me stronger physically and mentally. Alicia Markova’s experience with flat feet was different than mine. Critic Clement Crisp reports, “The sublime artist Alicia Markova was taken to ballet as a child because her flat little feet left sad imprints in the sand during a seaside holiday. Ballet, said a doctor, would cure that. And it did. She grew into an astounding artist whose ‘intelligent’ feet and legs were the envy of the ballet world.”

Fascination with dance led me beyond ballet to explore other dance genres (e.g., modern, Afro-Caribbean, Latin American, African, flamenco, Middle East, jazz, hip-hop, swing, ballroom, and folk). Curiosity led me to conduct dance research in villages and cities in Africa and then in theaters, school playgrounds and classrooms, and cabarets in the United States.

As an applied anthropologist I study human behavior, including many forms of dance and culture, past and present, and draw upon the work of different disciplines. I was surprised that at the 2008 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, more than 6,800 attendees paid rapt attention to renowned choreographer Mark Morris as he answered questions about the relationship between creativity and dance. Neuroscientists interested in dance? I wanted to know why.

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The Attraction of Dance

Scientists are turning to dance because it is a multifaceted activity that can help them demystify how the brain coordinates the body to perform complex, precise movements that express emotion and convey meaning. Dancers possess an extraordinary skill set—coordination of limbs, posture, balance, gesture, facial expression, perception, and action in sequences that create meaning in time and space and with effort. Dancers deal with the relationship between experience and observation.

The brain hides from our sight the wondrously complex operations that underlie the feat of dance. Although there are many secrets to unravel about the power of the brain and dance, advances in technology—29 at my last count, such as brain scanning techniques and the experiments using dancers, dance makers, and dance viewers–reveal to us the unexpected.

Misconceptions that dancers shouldn’t think, just dance, or that dance is merely physical or emotional expression, are challenged by reality. Research shows that dance activity also strongly registers in regions of the brain responsible for cognition. Hidden processes reveal that the brain is choreographer, dancer, and spectator. Dance is what the brain does.

The Choreographing Brain

[Read more…]

Atlanta Ballet to Finish Season with “MAYhem: Kissed”

May 19, 2016 by Rachel Hellwig

Atlanta Ballet in "Classical Symphony." Photo by Kim Kenney. — Atlanta Ballet in “Classical Symphony.” Photo by Kim Kenney.

By Rachel Hellwig

Atlanta Ballet wraps up its 2015-2016 season this weekend with MAYhem: Kissed at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre from May 20-22. The mixed-repertory program will feature the world premiere of Andrea Miller‘s Push, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s El Beso, and Yuri Possokhov‘s Classical Symphony.

MAYhem: Kissed is Atlanta Ballet’s final performance under John McFall, who has led the company as artistic director since 1994. “As far as my heart, my soul, my mind, I’m always going to have a connection to Atlanta Ballet,” he told The Atlanta Journal Constitution last September.

Push by Andrea Miller “takes the different facets of human relationships and fits them in to a tapestry of movement,” says Atlanta Ballet dancer Devon Joslin.

“Andrea had us all go through these different improv exercises in order to develop each specific emotion in our dancing,” she explains. “It was a simple task, but she has this way of digging things out of you that you didn’t think you had to offer. I have a solo that’s about the shame you feel when you open yourself up to someone wholeheartedly and they don’t reciprocate. I’m not the most confident person in the world so those feelings of shame and embarrassment came more naturally. Push is emotional. It’s human. It conveys things that every person in the audience has felt or will feel at some point in his or her life.”

Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s El Beso, set to Spanish Zarzuela music, was created in 2014 for New York City’s Ballet Hispanico.“This work explores the various kinds of kisses you can have in your life: friendship, family, passion, and social kisses,” says Atlanta Ballet’s Rachel Van Buskirk. “It’s extremely fast and detailed. The movement is so musical that it makes dancing it instinctual. My favorite part is the friendship trio I dance with fellow company members Jackie Nash and Heath Gill. It’s a blast to share this with your close friends. No acting required!”

“El Beso is, in large part, an autobiographical account of the choreographer’s early life and family–and I love that aspect of it,” adds John Welker, who’s danced with Atlanta Ballet for the past 21 seasons. “There’s also a playfulness in the music and movement that’s easy to feel. I enjoy the challenge of making this quick and dense choreography appear easy and articulate. Not an easy task.”

Classical Symphony, an encore performance from last year, was created for San Francisco Ballet in 2010 by the company’s choreographer in residence, Yuri Possokhov. The work received praise from Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times for the “sheer exuberance of its often unorthodox ballet virtuosity.”

Accompanied live by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra, Classical Symphony is performed to Sergei Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony No. 1, which debuted in 1918. “It seemed to me that if Haydn had lived into this era, he would have kept his own style while absorbing things from what was new in music,” the composer wrote.”That’s the kind of symphony I wanted to write: a symphony in the Classical style.” (He also later reused the symphony’s third movement in his iconic ballet score for Romeo and Juliet.)

“Classical Symphony is the challenge of the technique, classicism, and stamina of a traditional full-length ballet condensed into roughly a 16-minute piece,” says Jackie Nash. “It also incorporates fun modern flourishes and playful dynamics.”

In Classical Symphony, Nash will revisit a role she danced last May. “In 2015, this was the first principal part I performed, so there were some nerves that came along with the process,” she explains. “But this time around I have really liked getting to relax into the role a bit more. I also love getting to dance with Christian Clark. His skills as a partner are so refined and effortless and it allows me to really indulge in the steps. I feel I am in such good hands–literally.”

Classical Symphony is also notable in that it first brought Gennadi Nedvigin, Atlanta Ballet’s incoming artistic director, to the company when he staged the work on them in 2014. “I was drawn to the sense of community among Atlanta Ballet’s dancers,” he said in April. “And I was proud of their performance.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJcfDaSgLC8

Tickets start at $25. Purchase here or call call 404-892-3303.

“Runtime is approximately 2 hours, including 2 intermissions.

*Please note that one of the pieces on this program uses strobe lighting.” (from Atlanta Ballet’s website)

Book Review: “The Ballet Lover’s Companion” by Zoë Anderson

April 11, 2016 by 4dancers

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by Lauren Warnecke

Ballet has been the topic of much debate among dance scholars and writers over the last decade. Authors, critics, and academics have questioned the relevance of an art form with more than 600 years of history, particularly given the fact that much of that history has centered around Euro-centric, imperialist, male dominated subject matter (or Euro-centric, imperialist, male-dominated stereotypes of non-Western themes). Ballet dancers, choreographers, and artistic directors have varying views on how to remain current and inclusive in modern society, with some companies focusing on preserving the classics, others re-imagining or somehow evolving older ballets, and still others trying to push the form into entirely new territory.

Published in 2015, The Ballet Lover’s Companion by Zoë Anderson is a brief dance primer on ballet, with each of its eight chapters dedicated to distinct periods throughout ballet’s long history. In fewer than 350 pages, Anderson sifts through 140 ballets, analyzing their context by examining the social and political eras in which they were created. It’s an exciting (context: exciting for dance nerds like me) update to the slew of western dance history books available in that Anderson actually digs into the late 20th and early 21st century, perhaps replacing Susan Au’s 1988 stalwart on many dance majors’ bookshelves.

The Ballet Lover’s Companion is essentially a less verbose, easier to read, more optimistic version of Jennifer Homans’ Apollo’s Angels; Anderson, a dance critic, is unafraid to infuse the facts with opinion and commentary. For this reader, those are the bits that allowed me to get all the way through the book as a recreational read, but a second, typo-free edition could easily complement a western dance history course given its interesting tidbits of history and thorough treatment of an impressive number of ballets.

That all of those ballets originated from Europe, Russia or the United States is a symptom of ballet’s history, and not necessarily the fault of Zoë Anderson. That only five of the 140 ballets surveyed were created by women (namely Bronislava Nijinska, Agnes de Mille and Twyla Tharp) might be more problematic given the scope of the book into the 2010s, but perhaps again indicative of a systemic problem, and not at all unique to Anderson’s book.

Unlike Au’s Ballet and Modern Dance, or Homans’ Apollo’s Angels, however, The Ballet Lover’s Companion doesn’t appear to identify a clear audience or position itself as a textbook, though it reads like one. One page offers an enlightened discussion on the radicalism of the Ballets Russes and the desire of early 20th century choreographers to abandon classicism for more meaning and authenticity, while the next page gives a definition of the word tendu. Unsure of its audience, The Ballet Lover’s Companion could be for everyone interested in ballet, or no one at all, but my guess is that pre-professional dance students and college dance majors have the most to gain from reading it.

Contributor Lauren Warnecke is a freelance dance writer based in Chicago, and regular contributor to SeeChicagoDance.com, Windy City Times, and Chicago Magazine. Lauren is the creator of artintercepts.org, a blog committed to critical discourse about dance and performance, and has written for nationally reputed sites such as Dance Advantage and 4Dancers. An experienced educator, administrator, and producer, Lauren holds degrees in dance (BA) and kinesiology (MS). She is a Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM), and holds specialty certificates in Functional Training (ACE) and Sports Performance and Weightlifting (USAW). Tweet her @artintercepts

Hidden Gems: Ballet’s Mixed Rep Programs

March 18, 2016 by 4dancers

MCV1 — ***Atlanta Ballet dancers backstage at a performance of Yuri Possokhov’s Classical Symphony. Photo courtesy of Alessa Rogers.***

by Alessa Rogers

Mixed repertory programs can be a tough sell for ballet companies. Audiences are more willing to shell out money and time to see something familiar; like the story ballets Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, of which they already know what to expect and are thus more comfortable. Marquis productions are what bring in the money with their splashy titles, character-driven works, happy or not so happy endings. But there is a younger sibling to the more traditional full-length narrative ballet that deserves just as much audience respect–the mixed repertory program.

Mixed rep defined

A mixed rep show is a stylistically diverse program of multiple shorter works–generally 3 or 4 pieces, each around 15-30 minutes in length, and usually all by different choreographers. Some follow a narrative arc where others are movement for movement’s sake. Unless an artistic director has chosen a unifying theme for the program the pieces stand-alone and are unrelated which leads to a surprising, fresh and exciting program.

Bite-sized dance

In this day and age of instant gratification, a mixed rep show may just be what an entry-level balletomane needs. A 20 minute piece followed by a break to check in to the theater on Facebook and send a few selfies in your theatre-going finery followed by another 15 minute burst of culture a couple more times? Yes this is what 21^st century audiences can do at a mixed rep show! No need to buckle your seatbelt for a 3 and a half hour show of the same tortured heroine (though that is perfect for some people). The commitment is less but the pay off is still great. It’s like being served 3 of the most exquisite appetizers and not even needing to order an entrée because you are so satisfied from that.

But besides the practical logistics of maintaining your social life while gaining some culture cred, mixed reps offer something really special. I did a little bit of market research while writing this post, i.e., I asked my boyfriend what he thinks about mixed reps. He is a typical young American male engineer who likes watching basketball, playing chess and not going to ballets (until he met me that is–now he is horrified that he might have missed out on all those Nutcrackers!) Turns out, mixed rep programs are his favorite shows to go to. “They are good for people with short attention spans and there is more of a chance to see something you really like because there are three distinct pieces. Sometimes a piece might be weird and polarizing but in the end that makes it more exciting. And you are exposing yourself to the most density of dance experience in a short amount of time.” (Did I mention he has a Ph.D.? He is very smart and should be trusted.)

21st Century ballet

Mixed rep programs are fun because you never know quite what to expect. This is not stereotypical ballet. In a single show you might see classical ballet, neoclassical, contemporary, a blurring of all of these, or something completely different. There was one mixed rep at Atlanta Ballet that had not one single pointe shoe the entire evening. There were cowboy boots and jazz shoes and bare feet but nary a pointe shoe in sight. This is ballet? Yes, this is ballet in the 21^st century and it is glorious. Mixed reps are where ballet evolves and grows up and changes with the times. This is where performers and audiences stretch themselves to the limits, breathing new life into an old art form.

MCV2 — ***Atlanta Ballet dancers dressed for Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16 on tour in Toronto. Photo courtesy of Alessa Rogers.***

In a mixed rep program at Atlanta Ballet the audience is treated to some of the world’s greatest choreographers, like Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor and Jorma Elo. These in-demand dance makers from all over the world are heading South with their ballets. Atlantans don’t have to travel to places like New York and Europe to see these masters. They are coming here. At the same time, many companies use mixed reps to foster their budding in-house choreographers. In a 2014 mixed rep program, I was fortunate enough to be in pieces by internationally acclaimed choreographers Alexei Ratmansky and Ohad Naharin, but it ended up being Atlanta Ballet dancer Tara Lee’s premiere that was most special to me. There is a different dynamic in being choreographed on by a fellow dancer. She knows everything about me as a dancer, what I’m good at, what I’m bad at (and still cast me!), and it formed a kind of trust between her and her cast that was so strong.

In the program Atlanta Ballet is currently preparing for, all three works were world premieres on Atlanta Ballet at one point or another. When new pieces are being created, the studio is fecund with creativity, energy and excitement. Mixed rep shows are where we get to work with choreographers we have always dreamed of working with. I think at Atlanta Ballet this is really where we shine–in collaboration and in versatility. Working with these choreographers in such varied styles is how dancers become versatile artists. Young dancers often get their first chances to be featured and shine alongside virtuosic veterans. It can be hard on a body to go from Possokhov’s Classical Symphony to Gustavo Ramirez Sansano’s El Beso in the same night because the qualities are completely different but we crave the challenge. It fills us up. Mixed reps are where we find and push our edges. Even if there is one piece we don’t particularly like or isn’t suited to us we can work on growing in that one and really enjoy the next. There are extremes and there is balance and there is, always, beauty and joy.

When it comes to mixed rep programs, there are plenty of reasons to attend. Choreographer Gustavo Ramírez Sansano shares some thoughts on the value of experiencing a range of different contemporary dances:

Atlanta Ballet’s 20/20: Visionary program is a mixed rep offering that runs from March 18th through March 20th, 2016. Tickets are still available.

Contributor Alessa Rogers began her dance training with Daphne Kendall and left home at fourteen to attend the North Carolina School of the Arts. Upon graduation she spent one season with North Carolina Dance Theatre II before joining Atlanta Ballet where she has been for the past eight years.

Favorite roles at Atlanta Ballet include Juliette in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Romeo et Juliette, Margaret in the world premiere of Helen Pickett’s The Exiled, Lucy in Michael Pink’s Dracula, Ophelia in Stephen Mills’ Hamlet, Lover Girl in David Bintley’s Carmina Burana, and Princess Irene in the world premiere of Twyla Tharp’s The Princess and the Goblin.

She has performed works by Jorma Elo, Wayne McGregor, Ohad Naharin, Christopher Wheeldon, Christopher Hampson, Dwight Rhoden and Tara Lee. She has been a guest artist with the National Choreographers Initiative in California and Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance in Asheville, N.C.

In her spare time she likes to read, write, cook vegetables, meditate, travel and rock climb.

Getting Emotional: Role Preparation In Ballet

March 3, 2016 by 4dancers

Ashley Ellis dances in Onegin — *Patrick Yocum and Ashley Ellis in John Cranko’s Onegin; photo by Gene Schiavone, courtesy of Boston Ballet*

by Ashley Ellis

As we prepare for Onegin, Boston Ballet’s first program of 2016, it seems like a perfect moment to talk about emotions in dance. This ballet by John Cranko is a masterpiece; the story, choreography, and music will take you to another place. In dramatic ballets like this one, dancers are required to reach beyond their technique and really bring out the personality of the characters to tell a story.

I must say that I think one of the reasons that this ballet is such a favorite is that people can really connect with the story, either in a literal or abstract sense. Unlike the more fairytale type stories, Onegin touches on the deep emotions of young love, mature love, heartbreak, death, weakness, strength, faith, and betrayal in a very raw, human manner.

A wonderful thing about living art is that each and every performance is unique to whoever is dancing it, how the music is played, as well as other natural elements surrounding what is happening. Different dancers may portray the same role but each will bring unique qualities to their character to make it their own. They use their own past experiences, relationships with partners, and what they’ve discovered about the role and character they’re playing.

Now, to speak on infusing emotion into a role. Personally, for a long time I thought myself to not be much of an “actress”, it took some time to realize that it’s not about pretending to be something but about doing your best to genuinely feel the emotions. I am continually discovering how to grow as an artist but what it comes down to is this: it won’t be convincing to an audience if you aren’t convinced yourself. I think that is why for some time I never felt quite comfortable, because I felt there was something phony about what I was doing. It’s more about becoming, and believing, who or what you intend to portray. It is quite magical, and extremely fulfilling artistically. Like an escape from reality.

In this production I’m dancing the role of Olga who is Tatiana’s light-hearted younger sister who simply wants to enjoy herself and live life to the fullest. She does have her dramatic moment, however, when she crosses the line by dancing a little too long (and enthusiastically) with Onegin at a party. Olga then has to face the consequences of her actions. This change in emotions happens quickly for her from having a ball to a frantic state of regret and sadness as she pleads to her fiancé, Lensky, not to engage in a duel with Onegin.

This does take preparation, especially if it is a role that I am dancing for the first time. What is your character thinking at each moment, and why? For Olga for instance, I will say to myself, “She may be happy but why is she happy?” I don’t want to just slap a smile on and call it a day. She may be cheery by nature, but she is happy because she’s dancing with her friends, and because she just met her fiancé-to-be, and then she is winning at a card game, then she’s been asked to dance with a handsome man at the party… there should always be something. Later, with the sudden change in events, Olga must react to Lenky’s rage. At first she is confused, not knowing quite why he is so upset, and when she realizes what is going on she has to be so desperate to fix the situation because of the fear of watching her fiancé get hurt, or killed.

For me, it is important to be in the right state of mind before beginning anything. When preparing to go on stage, or even for a rehearsal, I try to put myself in the state of mind of my character. It is not only about facial expressions or mime, the reactions and thoughts should be felt throughout the body. Think about when we’re angry, sad, or happy. When we feel these things people don’t just see it in our face, they see it in our posture, quickness of movement; and then of course facial expressions on top of all of this. Its funny because if you think about it, it’s quite simple, but it’s easy to think too much, which can have an adverse effect.

Another element I’d like to mention that resonates with me, and adds depth to feeling emotions in dance, is the music. It feels so natural to give in to the melodies and the feelings that they evoke. So, even if I am not playing an obvious character, simply the music and energy of the choreography will arouse some sort of emotion internally.

In the end the key is to believe. Believe in what you are doing, and believe in who you are as a unique artist.

Boston Ballet performs Onegin through Sunday, March 6th, 2016. Tickets are still available.

Contributing writer Ashley Ellis is a principal dancer at Boston Ballet. Ellis hails from Torrance, California and she received her dance training at the South Bay Ballet under the direction of Diane Lauridsen. Other instruction included Alicia Head, Mario Nugara, Charles Maple, and Kimberly Olmos.

She began her professional career with American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company and later joined American Ballet Theatre as a company dancer. In 1999, Ellis won the first prize at the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award, and went on to become the recipient of the Coca Cola scholarship award in 2000 and 2001. She has performed in Spain with Angel Corella’s touring group and joined Corella Ballet in 2008 as a soloist. In 2011, Ellis joined Boston Ballet as a second soloist. She was promoted to soloist in 2012 and principal dancer in 2013.

Her repertoire includes Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty; Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker; Natalia Makarova’s La Bayadère; Marius Petipa’s Swan Lake; Christopher Wheeldon’s DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse, VIII and Polyphonia; Harald Lander’s Études; Michel Fokine’s Les Sylphides; Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote; Christopher Bruce’s Rooster; George Balanchine’s Serenade, Coppélia, Symphony in Three Movements, Symphony in C, and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux; Clark Tippet’s Bruch Violin Concerto; Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room; Stanton Welch’s Clear; Angel Corella’s String Sextet; Wayne McGregor’s Chroma; Jorma Elo’s Awake Only; Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free; Jiří Kylián’s Wings of Wax, Symphony of Psalms, and Petite Mort.

The Attraction of Dance

The Choreographing Brain

Mixed rep defined

Bite-sized dance

21st Century ballet

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